Extraterrestrial Life

News about Extraterrestrial Life, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 18, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Adam Frank considers possibility that reason humans have not encountered extraterrestrial life is linked to sustainability crisis humans face on earth with global warming and depletion of natural resources; observes that studying sustainability as an astrobiological problem can inform human race as to whether challenge it faces is impossible or not. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Dennis Overbye Out There column submits that expanding possibilities for life elsewhere in universe, as brought about by Mars rover Curiosity and other studies, may alter conventional notions of spirituality. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Data collected by Curiosity rover has been providing increasingly strong evidence that Mars may once have had conditions necessary for life. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Interview with Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb, in which he discusses his interest in early universe, possibility of extraterrestrial life and boundaries between science and fiction. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

George Johnson Raw Data column examines longstanding debate between scientists over likelihood of finding intelligent life elsewhere in universe; compares astronomer Carl Sagan's argument that such life must exist to biologist Ernst Mayr's rejection of idea; notes that Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, lacks funds, reducing chances of finding life, whether it exists or not. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Dennis Overbye Out There column observes that science fiction movies Earth to Echo and The Signal, both of which have plots revolving around alien visitors, are similar in content but completely different in message and tone; notes continuing fascination with extraterrestrials and lingering questions about whether they exist. MORE

May. 13, 2014

Profile of Dr Geoffrey W Marcy, holder of Watson and Marilyn Alberts Chair for Extraterrestrial Research at the University of California, Berkely; Marcy's work with the Kepler telescope has been instrumental in discovering other Earth-like planets in galaxy and in opening up possibility of other life in the universe. MORE

Nov. 19, 2013

Op-Ed article by author Paul Davies notes announcement by team of astronomers that there are as many as 40 billion habitable planets in our galaxy has fueled speculation that the universe is teeming with life; argues such claims have no scientific foundation, because there is no experimental data showing statistical likelihood of life forming on such planets. MORE

Aug. 23, 2013

Central Intelligence Agency releases classified report on history of U-2 spy plane, which officially acknowledges existence of secret military testing base at Groom Lake, Nevada, known as Area 51; report makes no mention of colonies of alien life, but for residents and tourists, mysteries and conspiracy theories of extraterrestrials and UFOs continue to be of interest. MORE

Jun. 11, 2013

Analysis published in Astrophysical Journal of data that was released in 2011 by European astronomers casts doubt on their claims of discovery of planet with mass comparable to Earth's orbiting Alpha Centauri B; scientists had posited that other planets in vicinity may have favorable conditions for life, but analysis indicates planet's existence cannot be confirmed. MORE

May. 4, 2013

Group of former lawmakers and government officials have concluded week-long event in Washington, DC, to discuss what they call government secrecy surrounding aliens and unidentified flying objects. MORE

Apr. 21, 2013

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column considers question of why human's have not encountered traces of other sentient civilizations in space if, as scientists increasingly believe, the existence of Earth-like planets in the universe is relatively common; questions why space exploration seems to have declined in popularity. MORE

Aug. 21, 2012

Dr Steven S Vogt and Dr R Paul Butler study in journal Astronomische Nachrichten argues for the existence of a potentially life-supporting planet circling star Gliese 581g in the constellation Libra; Vogt and Butler claimed to have discovered the planet in 2010, but other scientists have since come forward to dispute their findings. MORE

Jul. 31, 2012

NASA spacecraft containing the nuclear-powered planet rover Curiosity will begin a series of complicated maneuvers before touching down on the surface of Mars; $2.5 billion program, the last of NASA's planetary missions in the near future, will provide the closest examination so far of whether life ever existed on the planet. MORE

Jul. 10, 2012

Journal Science releases two studies that it says repudiate the findings of a provocative 2010 study claiming that bacteria in a California lake thrived on arsenic; original research, backed by NASA and also published in Science, had provoked speculation about the possibility of life existing on other planets. MORE

Jun. 19, 2012

Dennis Overbye essay commemorates the career of Dr Jill Tarter, retiring from her post as director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif; institute uses radio telescopes to search for evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. MORE

Mar. 20, 2012

Neil Genzlinger Critic's Notebook on the Science Channel's month of programming on the 'Are We Alone?' theme suspects beings from other planets may have learned about humans, not entirely accurately, from television shows over the last half-century. MORE

Feb. 12, 2012

News analysis; news that a concerted scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence by the SETI Institute in California has resumed raises questions about what would happen if actual contact was made. MORE

Jan. 30, 2012

Band of astronomers, operating on money and equipment scrounged from the public and from Silicon Valley millionaires, restart the search for extraterrestrial intelligence; SETI, for short, which had been interrupted in 2011 by a lack of financing, comes to life as a brace of 42 radio telescopes in Hat Creek, Calif, resume scanning for signals in the constellation Cygnus (Series: Life Out There). MORE

Dec. 6, 2011

Astronomers from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in Mountain View, Calif, announce the resumption of their radio telescope search for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations; project had been temporarily suspended due to budget shortfalls. MORE

Dec. 3, 2011

Scientists say they are closing in on finding distant planets that replicate earth's habitable zones--proper mix of temperature, atmosphere and water that would support the development of life; are set to meet in California to to review findings from first two years of NASA's Kepler spacecraft, which is used to discover such planets; (Series: Life Out There) MORE

Nov. 23, 2011

Mars Science Laboratory, set to launch from Cape Canaveral, will deliver new rover to surface of Mars by August, 2012; rover, named Curiosity, will search for methane and other carbon-based molecules that would indicate Mars once had atmospheric conditions that could support the development of life. MORE

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They say there is no place like home, but it is beginning to look as if there is a place sort of like home 41 light-years from here in the constellation Cancer. Astronomers reported yesterday that there were at least five planets circling a star...

June 12, 2007, Tuesday

British bookmakers slashed the odds on discovering extraterrestrial intelligence after astronomers announced Tuesday that that they had found an Earth-like planet 20 light-years away. Deciding to take less risk, William Hill cut its odds on proving...